Walewska’s parents speak out for the first time after their daughter’s death

The parents of Walewska Oliveira spoke out for the first time after the death of the Olympic volleyball champion. Through a post on social media, Aparecida and Geraldo lamented the “early death” of their 43-year-old daughter and thanked her for the messages of support at this time of “immense suffering”. The post was made on the athlete’s official Instagram account, accompanied by a photo of her with her parents.

“It was with immense suffering and regret that we, Geraldo and Aparecida, received the news of the early death of our much-loved daughter. Wal was a girl who never strayed from her origins, always humble and careful with everyone. Now we remember her competent professional, faithful friend and much loved daughter that she will always be. We thank all our fans and friends for their affection and we trust in God to give us comfort and acceptance. We ask for prayers and the best thoughts for our girl”, says the publication.

Walewska’s seventh-day mass will be held this Thursday. The player died on September 21 after falling from the 17th floor onto the balcony of an apartment on the first floor. A rescue unit tried to resuscitate the athlete, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. The Civil Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the player’s death. The case was registered in the 78th Police District, in the west zone of São Paulo.

Ricardo Mendes, who was married to her for 20 years, was not present at his wife’s wake and burial on Saturday, in Belo Horizonte. According to him, her presence was barred by the player’s family. Ricardo was not there at the time of the incident and was informed of the fact via instant messages in the condominium’s own group about what had happened. He and two other witnesses gave statements to the police.

WALEWSKA’S CAREER

Born in Belo Horizonte, Walewska began her professional volleyball career in 1995, playing for Minas Tênis Clube, a team where she remained until 1998, when she was called up by coach Bernardinho for the first time for the Brazilian team. She was just 19 years old.

The player won a gold medal with the Brazilian team at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1999. The following year, the center helped Brazil win bronze at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

After a period away from the national team, she was called up again by coach José Roberto Guimarães and was part of the team that came fourth in the 2004 Athens Games. She worked with the two great coaches of Brazilian volleyball: Zé Roberto and Bernardinho.

After she retired, Wal, as she was called, became a “specialist in leadership and high performance”, as she described herself, and launched the biography “Outras Redes”, the documentary “O Último Ato” and the OlympicMind podcast.

Published in January this year, the biography, whose preface was written by Bernardinho, tells the memories and challenges that the player faced in life and in volleyball, to which she dedicated herself for 30 years.